This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/040,962, filed Mar. 12, 1997. In addition, this application is a continuation-in-part of copending U.S. Ser. No. 09/033,832, filed Mar. 3, 1998.
This invention relates to radio frequency (RF) identification devices and, more particularly, to RF identification devices designed to permit the transmission of information about a person or thing to whom or which the RF identification devices are secured. The RF identification devices of the invention have particular application in the identification of individuals and the transmission of relevant information about said individuals to a master receiving and transmitting station whereby, when said master station addresses the RF identification devices on particular individuals, it will be able to ascertain various aspects of relevant data pertinent to the condition, situation, or other pertinent information about the individual.
Of course, a hand-held reader capable of receiving information from the identification device and, in certain instances, of transmitting information to the memory of the identification device for storage therein, can be used in substitution for the master station referred to hereinabove.
At the present time, identification devices such as wristbands or the like are widely used in hospitals to identify patients and to provide information regarding the patients. Such wristbands are also utilized in various other applications, including prisoner identification and crowd control. Initially such wristbands were confined to providing the bare minimum of the person or wearer's name and, possibly, in a medical application, the nature of the wearer's illness. Recently, such wristbands have been provided with encoded information in the form of bar codes or the like whereby considerable additional information about the wearer can be ascertained, including such relevant data as medication, patient condition, or the like when used in a medical application, or other types of information related to the wearer when the wristband is used in other applications.
In utilizing such wristbands, bar code readers are provided to appropriate authorized personnel, such as nursing or other staff members in a medical environment, to permit personnel to read the bar code information and provide an appropriate response, such as administering medication or performing various therapeutic measures when the wristband is used in a medical application.
While the use of bar codes or other encoded materials has constituted a considerable advance, once the bar code has been applied to the identification wristband, the alteration of the information on the wristband entails the substitution of a new wristband. In addition, because of physical space limitations, the information imparted by bar codes or the like is necessarily limited.
A possible solution which would overcome the limitations of identification wristband which are bar-coded or the like would be to provide an RF circuit in the wristband which would incorporate a semi-conductor circuit with logic memory, and wherein the RF circuit is connected to an antenna capable of receiving and transmitting information, so that authorized personnel having or carrying a transponder could query the RF circuit of the wristband to elicit a wide spectrum of information not presently available in conventional wristbands.
Unfortunately, available RF circuits are relatively expensive and, since conventional wristbands are disposable after use, such circuits would have to be discarded if they were integral components of the wristband.